Donor Families Australia
NEWS Winter 2019, Edition 21
HIGHLIGHTS
THE BRAVEST MAN I KNOW
AN AMAZING MEETING OPT-OUT NOT THE ANSWER CELEBRATING OUR AMAZING HOLLY THE FIRST EVER DONOR FAMILIES AUSTRALIA CONFERENCE
Kim shares the story of David John Campbell whom she describes as: “wonderful husband, best dad in the world... employee of Sylvania BMW for 30 years.” On Sunday 25 November 2018, our lives changed forever. Life as we knew it was gone; our close knit family devastated by a series of events that I would not wish upon my worst enemy. It is quite ironic: me writing this now — as my Grief Counsellor at my last session asked me to relive the few days leading up to Dave’s catastrophic brain aneurysm. Life was normal. Life was good. No, life was GREAT. My Davey had a three day weekend. Woo hoo! Happy days! We were supposed to be flying to Queensland to visit his mum on Friday 23 November for a quick overnighter as she is not getting any younger. The Weather Gods of Sydney had other things in mind for us; Sydney Airport was closed.
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In retrospect, this may have been a blessing as who knows if Dave’s aneurysm would have ruptured on the flight to Queensland. So, us being us, we made the most of the three days at home. Lawns and general home duties on the Friday and a lovely dinner. Saturday: we had massages, shopped and once again cooked up a storm with a lovely bottle of Petersons Chardonnay to complete the day — our last Saturday, forever, as a couple. Sunday 25 November: Davey was back to work. We were up early, had a beautiful breakfast on our new ~continued page 2
A life that touches others goes on forever
THE BRAVEST MAN I KNOW ~continued from cover
back deck. Discussed dinner for that evening and off to work he went, for the last time. Dave rang me at 10.40 am, our usual normal conversation. Little did I know that would be the last time I would ever speak to him. I headed over to my mum’s home at San Souci. She has dementia. I arrived at 11.20 am. Unbeknown to me, Davey was already on his way to the Trauma Unit at St George Hospital. He had collapsed at work. I received the call and I knew… I just bloody knew. The following three days seem like a nightmare. Upon arrival there were people everywhere: people wanting me to contact relatives, friends, but still no one had told me the honest truth. The hardest was telling my boys. I will never forget their faces when they entered the “Quiet Room.” It will haunt me till the day I die. My Davey was taken up to the IC Unit. Such respect, such admiration for these wonderful people. By the time we all got to see Dave, after 4.00 pm, he was plugged and hooked up to everything. These machines were keeping him alive. I knew that as well. Sunday night was a blur and a nightmare. When was I going to wake up? Monday rolled along and reality set in… decisions were to be made. There was no coming back for my beautiful husband, due to the fact he was on CoPlavix and there is no retardant for this drug, and so his brain continued to bleed. His brain was dying. By mid morning on the Monday, Dave was brain dead. Whilst waiting for the second round of brain death tests to be conducted, I contacted DonateLife. All our family wanted was for something positive to come out of this nightmare we were living. Shock crossed their faces as I was the one to raise the issue. Then, immense gratitude and
tears from the Doctors and Nursing Staff and — as you all know — the insurmountable paperwork began. During that horrific Monday, over 200 people came through the doors of St George ICU. They have never seen anything like it, and allowed it, and did not bat an eyelid.
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David John Campbell was declared passed at 4.45 pm on Monday 26 November 2018. We, as a family, were blessed to be able to share Tuesday with him whilst relevant tests and police reports were being finalised. I arrived at St George Hospital at 4.30 am on Wednesday 28 November. The beautiful staff had moved Davey over on the bed and I had the honour of spending the final hour lying with him and talking before they came to take him down to surgery for organ retrieval. I escorted him down with such love and respect in my heart. I told them to be respectful and look after my man. Both his kidneys were harvested. I received a call at 11.30 am to say surgery went well. One kidney was struggling due to the critical condition of the patient but the other began producing immediately. This was music to my ears. Someone or people will be sitting around the dinner table at Christmas celebrating with their family. My husband’s “Celebration of Life” was a ripper: over 600 people, a much loved and respected man. This was my opportunity and I was not going to let it pass. Organ donation was a large part of my eulogy, difficult but easy at the same time... I got my message across. It is now five months. I cannot believe it. My passion to promote organ donation is growing every day. ~continued on next page
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A life that touches others goes on forever
All my correspondance is signed with #donatelife. My friends accept this now as the norm from me. All I ask everyone I come into contact with is to “have the conversation.� I want education of the young people and also the average Australian. I want something positive to come from a catastrophic event. The solace we, as
a family, received, kept us sane and motivated us to make a difference. Everything I do now is in the memory of my wonderful husband, the bravest man I know. Thank you for reading our story. It means the world to us. Kim, Aaron, Nathan and Lachlan Campbell
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CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE It’s with great excitement and pleasure that we at Donor Families Australia (DFA) are announcing our inaugural conference at the Canberra University from 4-5 October 2019. This conference is 100% organised by DFA. It will be run totally independently and will be directed by you, our members, as to what topics are presented and discussed. This is your chance to voice your opinion as to what is needed in the system we find ourselves in. If you wish to share your ideas as to the topics to be covered at the Conference please email the committee at admin@donorfamiliesaustralia. org. Take this opportunity and come along. The stronger the voice the more chance of being heard to help improve outcomes for Donor Families whilst continuing to increase Australia’s Organ and Tissue Donation rate. I would personally like to thank the noncommittee members Sam Howkins, Philippa Delahoy and Kim Campbell for their invaluable and exciting contributions to the Conference sub-committee. DFA members can be assured that they are being well served by a very creative, inspirational and hard-working committee that will deliver a very meaningful two days for Donor Families, Recipients and the Organ and Tissue community. Please read Dr Holly Northam’s Insight included in this edition with an overview of the Conference. We have made arrangements for Conference early bird specials as per our Conference information in this edition. We look forward to seeing your registrations, please book early as there will be limited places available. The Conference dates will coincide with the beautiful Floriade Festival which is a wonderful opportunity to extend your stay in Canberra. Check our web page and Facebook pages for Conference updates. Just recently on Kevin Green’s facebook page ‘Donor and Recipients Group Australia’ a post invited members to disclose their details if they want to meet their Donor Family/Recipient. More than 750 people have responded. From that post alone there have been many successful
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connections made. This post, along with a survey we conducted over a year ago with 500 respondents where 495 of those said consenting Donor Families and consenting Recipients should be assisted to meet, tells us there is an overwhelming desire within our community for this to happen. We have already seen several TV appearances of families meeting and the joy that it has brought to both sides. Thankfully we have the media helping us bring families together as well as providing positive awareness/promotion about Organ and Tissue Donation. To all those involved we thank you. We can assure all Donor Families and Recipients who wish to meet each other that DFA will continue to do our best to help make this happen. If you are not already a member of DFA and the closed Facebook pages Donor and Recipients Group Australia and Members:Donor Families Australia please link in and become part of the conversation along with thousands already. One of those TV appearances is between Julie Wilson and Sondra and Anthony Bacon. You may have seen it recently on the channel seven Sunrise Show. Read their account of that special moment in our Newsletter. I can tell you that the membership of the Facebook page Donor and Recipients Group Australia grew by more than 426% on that day. We continue in this edition to include a feature story on a Donor Hero. Please read the heartwarming story of David Campbell, courtesy of his wife Kim. Kim has been mentioned above as one of our Conference organisers. We know David would be very proud of Kim’s efforts. We like to lay claim to our very own Holly Northam. Read our story about the wonderful award bestowed upon her for her fantastic
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lifetime work done in the field of Organ and Tissue Donation and with DFA. From all at DFA, a big congratulation for this well deserved recognition for all your efforts to support and improve outcomes for all Australians in this area. In this edition we are including an article from Sandi Parsons. Sandi has contributed a thought provoking article on what would be the best way forward for Organ and Tissue Donation. This story was first published on Eureka Street (21 March 2019). It is an interesting read and sure to promote discussion. The DFA committee has successfully applied to the Australian Taxation Office to become a
Deductible Gift Recipient organisation. What that means for our Charity is that we will be able to accept donations where the giver will be able to claim a donation over $2.00 as a deduction in their tax return. This new restructuring of our organisation will be a new day for us and will open up all sorts of possibilities into the future. We hope you all enjoy the Winter Edition of the DFA Newsletter. Contributions to further editions by our members are always encouraged. Please send through admin@ donorfamiliesaustralia.org Bruce McDowell Chairman
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EXCITING TIMES AHEAD FOR DFA We are so excited to be hosting the DFA conference, a first of its kind anywhere in the world!! It is led by and for Donor Families Australia and those who have been touched by organ and tissue donation. We are so excited to share our beautiful city with you and can’t wait to build friendships and connections throughout the events. Our committee have been working extremely hard to create an event that is special, warm and caring. There will be many opportunities for meeting new people, hearing remarkable stories and being part of a wonderful community. Now is the time to register and we know that the numbers will grow rapidly. We are pleased that it will be held on campus at the University of Canberra, a peaceful and beautiful setting located in Bruce, Canberra, in the ‘Bush Capital’.
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We are keen everyone who attends the conference should have the opportunity to tell their story, share their knowledge, and help create a ‘tapestry’ of expertise about organ and tissue donation for transplantation for a strong, happy, caring community. We hope this work will help people touched by organ and tissue donation and transplantation and normalise donation in Australia. We expect the conference will bring together people who really understand the issues- people like you! And your advice may lead to recommendations for law, policy and practice.
Holly’s Insight
In addition to all the excitement that is being generated about the conference, we have received good news this week that the closed Donor Recipient Facebook site research project that Kevin Green and the committee from DFA have been supporting, has been approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the University of Canberra. We are awaiting the final paper work from ANU and expect
to have the research ‘live’ within the next 3 weeks. We will be asking the users of that site to please give their permission by using an online consent form, for their postings to be deidentified and analysed as part of the research project. The findings from the research will be shared through publications, the conference, DFA newsletters and postings to the site. Only site users who have provided online consent will have their de-identified postings included in the study. The postings, that date back from early June 2014 to early June 2019, must be de-identified by the researchers before they can be used. There is very little research in this area, and to our knowledge none that presents the voices of a group such as this. My role in this research has been in response to DFA and recipient commentary around the perceived value of the social networking site as a therapeutic community and from many DFA member’s express wish to have their voices heard and respected. The research aims are to: 1. identify and reveal the voice of donor family members and recipients on a closed on-line social media site. 2. Respect the people whose lives are impacted by organ and tissue donation decision-making on this site by reporting and acknowledging their experience and views. 3. Support decisions that enable organ and tissue donation for transplantation in Australia by identifying barriers and enablers to these decisions, and by establishing the relational potential for healing following events that may include the death of a family member and/ or waiting for and receiving a transplant. The role of reciprocity and ‘deep hope’ in decisionmaking will also be explored. A posting by the administrator Mr Kevin Green and a posting by the Chairman of Donor Families Australia, Mr Bruce McDowell will
‘point’ to the link and encourage site users to access the ‘Qualtrics’ Participant Information and Consent Form. If satisfied, site users will be able to provide informed consent to have their earlier postings on the site deidentified, and included in the research. It is hoped that site users will share information about the post and the survey link and encourage other site users to be involved. Partnering with consumers is Standard 2 of the National Safety and Quality Health Service (2019), and a critical part of healthcare practice in delivering care. To date this is poorly evidenced in organ and tissue donation practice both nationally and internationally. Considering the families have been required to provide informed consent for the donation transplantation process to proceed, and most have been witness to, and involved in the end-of-life care of their loved one, prior to the donation, I advocate that it is critical that their voices can be heard so they are recognised for their role, and supported in their decisions during and after the events. A better understanding of this experience may help the people who have done so already. We warmly encourage you, your family and friends to consider joining us for the conference, and if you are a user of the Donor Recipient ‘closed’ Facebook site, please, please consider being part of the anonymous research. See you in Canberra!!! Please don’t hesitate to contact me or the committee with any questions, offers of help or concerns. Dr Holly Northam, Faculty of Health, University of Canberra Pudandam Reference: 1. National Standards of Safety and Quality in Health (2019). Standard 2. Partnering with Consumers Available at: 2. https://www.nationalstandards.safetyandquality.gov.au/2.partnering-consumers
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A MEETING FEW WORDS CAN DESCRIBE Last month, Channel 7’s morning show Sunrise, showed the uplifting story of the emotional first meeting between Donor Mum, Julie Wilson, little Alex Bacon — the Recipient of her teenage son Brodie’s liver, and Alex’s lovely family. In this edition of DFA News, Julie and Anthony are each sharing their side of this longed for moment with us. If you haven’t watched the piece, we highly recommend you go to our website and take a look. On 29 June 2013, my 18 year old son Brodie had a severe asthma attack. He was taken to hospital and put on life support. On 1 July 2013, he gave the gift of life to five people with organ donation. On 18 May 2019, l went to Mills Beach in Mornington VIC where I met Nathan Templeton; he is a reporter for the morning Sunrise show. This was the beginning of a very emotional day for me as I was going to meet one of Brodie's organ recipients. Her name is Alex. She is now seven years old. At the time of the transplant, she was only 14 months — and a very sick baby. Meeting Alex stirred up a lot of different emotions for me. It has been 70 months since Brodie died and just knowing Alex has a part of him inside her was, for me, overwhelming,
exciting and emotional.
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After a short interview at the beach, I went to Alex's family home. I arrived at their driveway and as I got out of the car, Alex's parents came out to greet me. There were a lot tears between two mums who held each other for the longest time. Then the moment I had been waiting so long for: they called Alex to come outside. This beautiful little girl appeared. I put out my hand to shake hers and say hello; she came forward and gave me a hug that was the best hug I have ever had — hugging both Alex and Brodie in that special moment. The day continued with more interviews and special moments between me, Alex and her beautiful family. Later in the day we all went out for lunch (minus the reporter and cameras). I found myself watching this little girl — so happy, healthy and full of life. It gave me a sort of peace to know my son’s death wasn't for nothing; knowing Brodie had saved this little girl’s life and she was here because he made a selfless decision to help others when he was gone. You are my hero, Brodie. After lunch, we went to the park. As we were walking along, Alex came up to me and held my hand. It brought a lump to my throat and filled my heart with happiness. I felt very grateful for this special moment with Alex. Alex's mum Sondra later said to me, “As far as we are concerned, Alex has two mums.” I was so touched by those words, I will treasure them forever. As the day went on, I felt a bond growing between — not only Alex and myself — but
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Left: Julie and Alex together. Above: Alex as a baby.
her family as well; I felt like I had known them forever. We shared stories of what our two children had been through in their short lives. We shared tears, heartache and happy moments. It was truly the best day I have had in a very long time. I look forward to making more great memories with Alex and her family in the years to come. I am so grateful to be a part of Alex's life. As I drove home that night, reflecting on the day with an emotional roller coaster of thoughts and feelings going through my head, l thought of how very sad I am that my son has gone, but how very happy I am that Alex is here! My Brodie boy, you are gone but never forgotten. x Julie Wilson
My name is Anthony Bacon and I’m Alex’s father. Below is a brief write up outlining my family’s meeting with Julie Wilson, Brodie’s Mum, as well as our collective intentions to bring about further awareness beyond the special bond we have already created. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts for providing the forum to make this possible. After four long weeks in ICU on life support at the Royal Children’s Hospital, our 14 month little baby girl, Alex Bacon, received a 14-hour lifesaving liver transplant. Alex was diagnosed with a rare condition called Biliary Atresia only weeks after birth. Over six years have gone by since Alex (now in year one) was fortunate enough to receive this precious gift. And just last Saturday, our family, through the power of social media, became the 50th pairing via the Facebook page Donor and Recipients Group Australia. Needless to say, this was a very emotional experience but also a very happy one that few words could describe. Immediately there was a bond with a family that we had only just met. The only problem was, how do you say thank you to those that had been so selfless? Without the loss of their son and brother Brodie, Alex would not be here today and for that we are eternally grateful. While we may never meet Brodie we try to honour him each and everyday through the opportunities and life we provide for our daughter as well as special bond we now have with Brodie’s family. In order to bring to light further the importance of organ donation in Australia, the Sunrise crew from Channel 7 were gracious enough to capture our first meeting. Currently, organ donation in Australia is an opt-in choice and unfortunately, although with best intentions, few get around to signing on. We are all hopeful that stories like Alex and Brodie’s can change this, with more registrations and conversations with loved ones, and giving further importance to organ donation — as well as the celebration of life itself. Anthony & Sondra Bacon
Top: Brodie - Donor Hero and beloved son and brother. Above: Alex, now a healthy young lady thanks to Brodie’s priceless gift.
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An important note about...
CONFERENCE ACCOMMODATION As Floriade, Canberra’s premier event is also occurring during the same weekend as the Donor Family Australia’s Conference, accommodation options will be limited. That’s why it’s important to book as soon as possible. To help you, Donor Families Australia has organised discounts with these kind hotels and accommodation providers. You’re under no obligation to stay at any of these places, but every little bit helps. (Click on the hotel name to be taken to its website)
Hotel Kurrajong
3-6 October 2019
15% off best available rate (subject to rate changes and availability)
Enter code DONORFA in promo code section
Deco Hotel Canberra
4-5 October 2019
Opening special rate from $126 per night
Mention Donor Families Australia Conference when booking
Avenue Hotel Canberra
4-5 October 2019
10% off the advertised rate
Discount will automatically be available when booking online
Pavilion on Northbourne
4-5 October 2019
10% off the advertised rate
Discount will automatically be available when booking online
University House
Helen to advise
6% off best available rate (already 4% off market rate)
Mention code 1910DONORF when calling to book
Donor Families Australia
CONFERENCE
2019
University of Canberra
4-5 October
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OPT-OUT NOT THE ANSWER FOR ORGAN DONATIONS
Sandi Parsons challenges conventional “wisdom” that further increases in organ donation rates will only result from an opt-out system. Here she argues for better communication about the real experiences from Donor Families - to both increase rates and to ensure a better experience for everyone involved, including Recipients. Article originally published on Eureka Street, 21 March 2019. In 2018, in an effort to stamp out illegal trade practices and raise organ donation rates, a parliamentary committee recommended Australia take an opt-out approach to organ donation. An opt-out system would presume everybody is an organ donor unless they have taken preventative measures and officially registered to optout. In 2011, I was one of the 1,001 Australians who benefited from the generosity of 337 deceased organ donors. At the time, it was Australia’s highest recorded number of organ donations. Last year, Australia recorded 554 deceased organ donors – an increase of 64.3%. DonateLife, the peak body responsible for organ donation in Australia, maintains the position that adopting an optout policy has the potential to decrease donation rates. According to DonateLife, growing education and awareness have been the catalysts that have seen organ donation rates increase in Australia. So why change a system that is working? Many in favour of adopting an opt-out system believe it will override family consent and organ donation will become automatic for those who
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have not opted out via the registration system. Transplant wait lists will subsequently decrease – it seems like a win for everyone. However, the idea that opt-out will override family consent is false. The key deciding factor for both opt-in and optout systems requires that next-of-kin provide consent. Without this consent, organ donation will not proceed under either model. Of those who die in the circumstances compatible with organ donation, 59% of families consent. A closer look at the statistics reveals 90% of families say yes to organ donation when their loved one has registered. 73% of families say yes if they’ve had a conversation and know their loved one's wishes, even if they never registered. In comparison, only 44% of families consent when they do not know their loved one wishes. Without the clear indication of intent provided to next-of-kin by registering to be an organ donor, changing the organ donation register to opt-out runs a real risk that organ donation rates will lower. Why worry about a little thing like consent
Organ donation should never be expected via an opt-out system or treated as an expectation or a demand.
It is a precious gift. then? Why not let opt-out go a little further and override next-of-kin consent? The obvious argument being that the first headline shouting: “Government stole my husband’s organs,” will do more damage to organ donation than the rumour mongering and myths that already exist. With education and awareness established as the best way to raise organ donation rates, what more can we do? The approach to families after brain or circulation death is established can be one of the critical elements – it’s a conversation that happens right after the delivery of the worst possible news, the death of a loved one. It’s a conversation that needs to be sensitive and broached in the best possible manner. Nobody is better placed to help DonateLife have these conversations than those families who have already experienced this situation. Organ donation is a unique situation, only Donor family members can explain the highs and lows that will come from giving the gift of life to others. The power of a positive message about the gift of organ donation delivered by a Donor family member could become a key factor in helping next-of-kin make that their decision.
Our generosity towards charities and fundraising is evident daily. In 2018 Australia was ranked as the second most generous nation by the Charities Aid Foundation. Organ donation has always been the most altruistic gift. Organ donation should never be expected via an opt-out system or treated as an expectation or a demand. A double lung transplant did more than extend my life. It profoundly changed me. I am not who I was before, although I am still me. I am in the lucky position of knowing a little about the generous woman who gifted me the use of her lungs. I know that many years before her death she chose to become an organ donor and when faced with the decision of consent, her family chose to honour her wishes. As guardian to gifted lungs, I am now responsible for taking care of a part of someone else and I take great comfort from the knowledge these lungs were given willingly. I can’t repay the woman who saved my life, but I can pay her gift forward by raising awareness of the positive aspects of organ donation and speaking up when the conversation on organ donation gets off track. Sandi Parsons
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THE UNSTOPPABLE HOLLY NORTHAM I would like to tell you all just a little bit about one of our inaugural Committee Members and greatest supporters of Donor Families Australia: Dr Holly Northam OAM. Holly first chose Nursing over forty years ago and now lives in Canberra.
• Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship (travelling to UK, Spain and USA) • DFA Appreciation Award
I first met her at our DFA Workshop weekend in Sydney in October 2016; we’d flown in from all around Australia for a brainstorming session and it was so lovely to put faces to the names of our Committee Members — people that we’d been speaking with at our meetings over Skype during many previous years.
These are just some of Holly's many achievements and awards and I can honestly say I have never known such an amazing, strong, kind, intelligent, calm woman before who is always willing to help, support and advise. [*Holly: you are also a very humble person who just gets on with life, so please forgive me for "singing your praises" but I want our members to know just how much they are supported!]
If I were to list all of Holly's achievements, I would likely need this whole Newsletter. Nonetheless, I would like to let you all Photo credit: Irene Dowdy, idphoto.com.au know what an incredible lady we have supporting us, on board at DFA. Holly also appears to have incredible patience Over the years, just some of her many achievements include: • PhD in Nursing (subject: "Hope for a peaceful death and organ donation" identified that more must be done to alleviate suffering caused by communication failures in healthcare). • Masters in Nursing • Diploma in Critical Care Nursing • Midwifery Certificate • Registered Nurse • Work in Paediatrics and Palliative Care • Numerous awards from the ACT Government, Ministers, and Canberra Hospital • Australian of the Year Finalist: Local Hero Award. • ACT Chief Nurse
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with the slow way in which bureaucracy turns and never seems to get "rattled." She believes that the right level of communication is needed when it comes to grieving families in desperately sad situations and it's how we educate our health professionals to make sure they've got the empathy and compassion to manage those conversations — even if they don't know the answers. Holly is committed to educating the next generation of nurses through her senior role at the University of Canberra Hospital. She has also worked as the ACT's organ donor coordinator at the Canberra Hospital, and this year, she received well deserved recognition for her work.
This year, Holly received the medal of the Order of Australia for her service to medicine - a massive honour and recognition of an incredible body of work. Holly is married to Jeff and has three beautiful daughters, one of whom designed our Donor Families Logo for us. They must be just so proud and supportive of their wife and mum and all that she has achieved. And believe me, there is more to come from this incredible woman as she never stops giving of her time and energy to others.
THANK YOU HOLLY! Philippa Waldron, Donor Families Australia
DONOR-RECIPIENT CONTACT REGISTER Joining the Donor-Recipient Contact Register in three easy steps:
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Become a Donor Families Australia Member, or Associate Member (Recipient) by applying online at: https://www.donorfamiliesaustralia.org/join-us
Once your membership is confirmed, apply online to the Contact Register at: https://www.donorfamiliesaustralia.org/contact-register
We will let you know when we find a match.
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ANNUAL DONOR FAMILY DINNER 2019 A night full of laughter, tears and fellowship was had by all at the DFA Annual Dinner held at Beach Hotel in Newcastle for Donor Families on 2 March. It was wonderful to see the group mingle and share their stories, many of pride for their Donor Hero loved one. Our DFA dinners grow from strength to strength as our members embrace the opportunity to get together and enjoy the company of people who have been on similar journeys. This was the first Donor Family dinner held outside of Melbourne and we hope we will be able to host similar in other states to get to meet more of our members face to face. We had a number of quest speakers including Steve and Sharon Bosworth who spoke of their journey of being a recipient and having the life changing opportunity to meet the Donor Family whose loved one saved Steve’s life. It was a reminder of the wonderful gift our own loved ones provided to save and improve the lives of many. We heard from Dr Holly Northam as she gave an overview of the upcoming Conference in Canberra as she gained insight from Donor Families as to what they would like to have included in the two-day program. A successful night such as this could not have happened without the generous support shown by the Ackerman family through the James Ackerman Legacy who sponsored the evening and the hard work of DFA Committee Member Jann Eastley. A big THANK YOU to all for making it such a memorable evening for all those who attended.
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Upcoming Events // Upcoming Events // Upcoming Events
Upcoming Events DFA News is distributed throughout Australia each quarter. If you have a public event planned in relation to organ and tissue donation, please let us know and we can publish your event details.** To advertise an event, contact us: http://donorfamiliesaustralia.org/contact-us
A WARM INVITATION TO JOIN US Share your experience with similar people to support those making life changing decisions. Help us to build a caring community and to shape the future of this caring national network.
If you would like to find out more about Donor Families Australia and how to become a member please visit our website
Individually we do great things and affect those around us. Collectively we do great things and affect a nation! www.donorfamiliesaustralia.org
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Upcoming Events // Upcoming Events // Upcoming Events